Anybody regret NOT going 338?

All great comments, I am biased towards a 338 rum or equivilent because of the hammer effect. That being said, I also really like my 300 rum especially now that I have been playing with 215 bergers. The 300 gr bergers out of the 338 are truly amazing, but the price to pay is recoil, even with a brake. On the other hand, a 225 nosler accubond at 3300 fps works very well under 1k and has much less recoil, hits hard and shoots flat. The other thing I consider is the one shot live or die shot when hunting in grizzly country. I want the biggest hammer and a bullet that won't let me down. I am not saying that a 300 won't accomplish the goal, I just think the odds are better with the 338.

On a side note, I haven't tried the berger 230 otms yet, and I was excited when my chrono showed 3100 plus with the 215's, but reality sunk in when my drop charts confirmed that my 215's are going right at 3000 fps and not the 3100 that the chrono showed. My 180's easily bump 3350.

Today I was shooting with a friend and getting him some drop info for his 300 wby. When it was all said and done, his 190 gr bergers had a corrected speed of 3225 and shot very good to 1000 and that was with a 25 inch factory fluted barrel on an action that has been blueprinted.

8 mm seems like a good compromise for me, but brass and bullet selection scares me.

What lies between a 300 win and 300 rum in terms of performance?

The 300 Dakota. A great cartridge. Great brass but spendy and spendy dies too, but the brass will last longer than the RUM brass and one advantage over both is a shorter case that will allow you to seat long bullets to the lands and not encroach on case space for a repeater.

If I was going to do one, it would be on a Howa/Vanguard doner with a B&C medalist stock or a Manners.

Parts and smithing would runn about $1500 - $2000 or possibly more depending what parts and upgrades you do.

__________________
- Mark

You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.
~ John Quincy Adams

I have never regretted staying with .284" bullets. The .338 phase is just an overcompensation phase, IMO. However, before all of yall jump my ass about that comment, I was referring to overcompensating for abilities, and not referring to anything else. The friggin 2,000 yard plus abilities of a .338 Lapua or Allen Mag are awesome.....But way overkill unless you are just trying to shoot at game as far away as humanly possible... I was taught to get as close as possible, within your comfort zone. Yet, we probably have yahoos who make tons of money out there with custom rifles trying to take 2,000 yard shots on animals and inhumanely injuring them, b/c their rig can do it. But just b/c your setup is capable, doesn't mean they possess the abilities to carry out a shot like that.

Overbore magnums are, IMO, not for hunting. .338 Lapua is just too much gun to hunt ANYTHING in N or S America. Unless you're hunting in Africa, you don't need something over .30 caliber.

A well-placed shot with a .257 projectile can be MUCH more deadly than a piss-poor shot by a .338....

I have never regretted my choice to stay with the 7mm calbers....7mm-08, 7mm RemMag, & 7mmSTW.

My STW has impressed my buddy with a .300 WM so much, he has switched his opinions of rebarreling to a .338 Lapua to a 7mmSTW.

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"I'm just a peckerwood who lives in the hills with too many guns..." - Bob Lee Swagger

I have never regretted staying with .284" bullets. The .338 phase is just an overcompensation phase, IMO. However, before all of yall jump my ass about that comment, I was referring to overcompensating for abilities, and not referring to anything else. The friggin 2,000 yard plus abilities of a .338 Lapua or Allen Mag are awesome.....But way overkill unless you are just trying to shoot at game as far away as humanly possible... I was taught to get as close as possible, within your comfort zone. Yet, we probably have yahoos who make tons of money out there with custom rifles trying to take 2,000 yard shots on animals and inhumanely injuring them, b/c their rig can do it. But just b/c your setup is capable, doesn't mean they possess the abilities to carry out a shot like that.

Overbore magnums are, IMO, not for hunting. .338 Lapua is just too much gun to hunt ANYTHING in N or S America. Unless you're hunting in Africa, you don't need something over .30 caliber.

A well-placed shot with a .257 projectile can be MUCH more deadly than a piss-poor shot by a .338....

I have never regretted my choice to stay with the 7mm calbers....7mm-08, 7mm RemMag, & 7mmSTW.

My STW has impressed my buddy with a .300 WM so much, he has switched his opinions of rebarreling to a .338 Lapua to a 7mmSTW.

The comments to follow should be interesting....... One question though, have you ever hunted with a 338 Lapua or similar powdered cartridge? If not then i dont think it is fair to make the comments you did.

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I'm 16"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."~George Washington

"The only advantage a light rifle has is weight, all other advantages go to the heavy rifle."
~ JE Custom

The comments to follow should be interesting....... One question though, have you ever hunted with a 338 Lapua or similar powdered cartridge? If not then i dont think it is fair to make the comments you did.

I have shot a .338-378 Weatherby Magnum. I choose to not hunt with one because I think it just an overbore fascination. It's all in what the military is using is what seems to draw the most interest in the shooting communities trends. Now that the military has swapped the M24's from .308 Win, to .300 WM, people seem to be shucking off their .308's in favor of the LA counterpart... Once it the .338 Lapua came out....Popularity sky-rocketed.

.408 Cheytac.....Another prime example. .50 BMG...Another example.

Anything hot that can shoot for over a mile is the next big thing.

I am not saying that anything is a bad person for owning or hunting with such rifles. I am simply saying that I choose not to own or hunt with a .338 or larger caliber magnum rifle.

It's just my opinion.

But the comment about a well-placed small caliber being more deadly than a poorly placed large caliber, is about the truth, if you've ever made a perfect shot right in the pumpstation before. You shoot....They fall right over. You can do that with a .22-250....Doesn't have to be the hammer of Thor to do such a thing.

If you shoot Moose or Caribou, I MIGHT could understand the .338 being a bit of an advantage b/c of the size of Moose and Caribou. But for anything else, a .300 WM or smaller will do the trick.

Get pissed about my comments all you want....But the reason it pisses you off so much, is b/c you KNOW deep inside that I am right in what I have said...

__________________
"I'm just a peckerwood who lives in the hills with too many guns..." - Bob Lee Swagger

I have shot a .338-378 Weatherby Magnum. I choose to not hunt with one because I think it just an overbore fascination. It's all in what the military is using is what seems to draw the most interest in the shooting communities trends. Now that the military has swapped the M24's from .308 Win, to .300 WM, people seem to be shucking off their .308's in favor of the LA counterpart... Once it the .338 Lapua came out....Popularity sky-rocketed.

.408 Cheytac.....Another prime example. .50 BMG...Another example.

Anything hot that can shoot for over a mile is the next big thing.

I am not saying that anything is a bad person for owning or hunting with such rifles. I am simply saying that I choose not to own or hunt with a .338 or larger caliber magnum rifle.

It's just my opinion.

But the comment about a well-placed small caliber being more deadly than a poorly placed large caliber, is about the truth, if you've ever made a perfect shot right in the pumpstation before. You shoot....They fall right over. You can do that with a .22-250....Doesn't have to be the hammer of Thor to do such a thing.

If you shoot Moose or Caribou, I MIGHT could understand the .338 being a bit of an advantage b/c of the size of Moose and Caribou. But for anything else, a .300 WM or smaller will do the trick.

Get pissed about my comments all you want....But the reason it pisses you off so much, is b/c you KNOW deep inside that I am right in what I have said...

You are right about the shot placement, and who said i was pissed? I just asked you a simple question... Lets see what others have to think of the 338 Lapua sized cartridges on game, dont be shy guys. I love my 338 Lapua and the affect it has on game.

__________________
I'm 16"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."~George Washington

"The only advantage a light rifle has is weight, all other advantages go to the heavy rifle."
~ JE Custom